1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to lighting installations which include lighting fixtures which utilize light emitting diodes (LEDs) for illumination
2. Description of Related Art
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming more widely used in consumer lighting applications. In consumer installations, one or more LED dies (or chips) are mounted within a LED package or on a LED module, which may make up part of a LED light fixture. Various implementations of LED lighting fixtures are becoming available in the marketplace to fill a wide range of applications. LEDs offer improved light efficiency, a longer lifetime, lower energy consumption and reduced maintenance costs, as compared to filament and/or discharge light sources for example.
LED lamps are made of arrays of SMD modules that replace incandescent or compact fluorescent light bulbs, mostly replacing incandescent bulbs rated from 5 to 60 watts. Such lamps are made with standard light bulb connections and shapes, such as an Edison screw base and are compatible with the AC mains voltage generally supplied to the sockets. LED lamps generally include driver circuitry to rectify the AC power and internally convert the voltage to an appropriate value.
A typical illumination LED has a forward voltage threshold between 2 and 4 Volts of DC. A series string of ten LEDs may require 33 VDC forward voltage to light with a drive current of 350 mA.